Stock '91 - Just a little faster?

[scottyb]

'Replacing failed parts when they fail is fine' so long as they don't take other parts out with them when they go... and they fail at home uphill from the garage.

Case in point would be the F&R, run too much load through it and it will heat up and melt down. Replacement HD F&R is $159. Upgraded F&R switch cam is all that's needed to prevent this from happening $69.

Cool looking co-pilot

[Canine_Rescue_Pilot]

Well folks here it is: DONE. My 1991 36V Ez-Go "tank". Standard Wheels, Standard (275 amp) Curtis controller, New batteries, home-build 2ga wiring, standard (now cleaned and restored) solenoid & FR switch. Freshly restored Total Charge (manual timer) charger.

I decided to modify the motor myself. I replaced the motor bearing, replaced the brushes, resurfaced the commutator, and re-wound the series coil on the stock GE 2800 rpm motor.

During the re-wind, i re-varnished the coil wire and wound it closer/tighter against the ferrites. I removed precisely one turn from each of the four ferrites, then re-wrapped each with fresh high-temp teflon tape.

The results: from a stately 11-12mph NOW a brisk 17mph (18-19 if we're down hill ) - Measured with a Bushnell sports radar gun.
Measured continuous current draw (at full throttle w/ 2 people on board, full charge)= ~ 98 amps.
A thermocouple placed on the motor, while full speed (max current) indicates 33 degrees C.

I'm a happy guy. You CAN upgrade and modify without dumping a bunch of money, if you're willing to dig in a bit. This 1991 tank was worth a small investment because it's in great shape, but not worth a big investment because -well- it's a 1991... it's never going to be more than it is. But it's a "workhorse" cart that is used for screaming down airport taxiways as well as my neighborhood "fun cart". Been running her about three weeks now and all is performing well.

[JohnnieB]

Great looking cart.

Not many cart owners have the skills and knowledge, or courage, to re-wind a motor or rebuild a solenoid, so I suspect you had some K-9 help.

Are you sure that thermocouple is in intimate contact with the motor?
33C (91.4F) sounds more like ambient than motor temp.

Just curious, but what size tires and what is the differential ratio?
With 18" tall tires and a 12.44:1 rear-end, that motor is spinning around 4,000 RPM to get 17MPH.

Again - Great looking cart and good job getting it to do what you wanted at minimal expense.

[Gonkulor]

Very nice original cart and great work rewiring the motor yourself. That's one lucky dog

[Canine_Rescue_Pilot]

Johnnie - Good questions.
Admittedly the thermocouple is in contact with the motor case. Ideally it should have been in contact with one of the windings - since, after all, that's really what you're trying to protect... you don't want to over heat a winding, melt its insulation or vanish and cause a short. I did not place it on a winding for two reasons... (1) I did not want the motor case to loose it's "seal" and have any entrance for water, moisture or dust/grime (say goodbye to new bearings!). (2) I'm not sure what affect it would have on a stable magnetic field, nor am I sure if it would cause a stray current to form in the thermocouple and damage my meter.

Regarding the rear transaxel ratio... I really don't know. It's stock (to my knowledge). The wheels are also stock 8.50 wheels with upgraded , but standard, tires. I "estimate" the motor is spinning at about 4400-4600 at full speed... but that is only a guess. It is one of the reasons I decided to replace the motor-end bearing with a known "brand-new" bearing. The negative side of all of this is that the rear-end of the cart "whines" at high speed. Sounds cool for now... but I have no idea if I'm prematurely wearing the axel bearings or even the gears in the rear end. Live and learn I suppose. I'll post any bad along with the good if it happens.

Does anyone know if they make gear kits for '91 electrics?? I have been told they do not. But I have seen one place that sells a set and "claims" it will work on the '91 EZ-Go electric Dana Transaxels. However, they are extremely proud of them at something like $600 for the set... I'm much too cheap to spend that for two metal gears!

And yes... it was the "canine" help! Maxwell is my Rhodesian Ridgeback co-pilot (for real, in the airplane... and in many other fun things in life!)

[CART-ZILLA]

i saw some on e-bay.... I wished you would have documented that rebuild on film .I would have liked to see how you did that ...I have a 94 i want more speed too...lol